Tape dispenser



Oct. 31, 1967 A. P. COSTELLO 3,349,979

TAPE DISPENSER Fil ed Feb. 14, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ALFRED P. COSTELLO Oct. 31, 1967 A. P. COSTELLO TAPE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 14, 1966 INVENTOR ALFRED P. COSTELLO United States Patent 3,349,979 TAPE DISPENSER Alfred P. Costello. North Vancouver, British Columbia,

'Canada, assignor to Universal Patent and Development Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a corporation of Canada fFiled Feb. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 527,333

. Claims. (Cl. 225-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser case and cutter for pressure sensitive tapes, having a removable cutter slidably mounted on the case for closing a tape discharge opening, and serving to'lock two halves of the case after loading the tape.

This invention relates to a container-type dispenser which is particularly adapted for use in dispensing pressure-sensitive tapes.

An object of the invention is to provide means constructed and arranged so that a cutter can readily be attached to the container for sliding movement thereon, the cutter serving as a removable closure for a tape discharge opening.

A further object is to provide a two-part container on which the slidably mounted cutter serves as a retainer for locking said parts in assembled relation.

A still further object is to provide a simplified form of the dispenser having means to provide that the tape roll can be quickly and easily loaded therein.

These objects are achieved by a dispenser case having a top wall on which an upstanding rib is formed. A cutter is slidably mounted on the rib with means being provided in such a way that it cannot be lifted away from the dispenser. Other means provide the cutter with limited endwise movement whereby the cutter serves as a removable closure for a tap discharge opening formed in the case. My invention is described below with reference to drawings showing specific embodiments thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, part broken away.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation, part broken away.

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal section of the cutter. 7

FIGURE 5 is a transverse action taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIGURE 6 is a plan of a modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 88 of FIG. 7.

The dispenser has a case 10 Which desirably is molded from a suitable plastic material. Two mated parts 11A and 11B make up the body of the plastic case, these two parts being complimentary so that when fitted together they form a hollow structure which is split or divided longitudinally.

The mated parts provide the case 10 with parallel side Walls 12 each having an inwardly projecting and integrally formed central sleeve 14 and -15 respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the sleeves of part 11A is slightly smaller in outside diameter than the inside diameter of the sleeve 14 of part 11B and this permits the two sleeves to telescope together so that an outer periphery of the sleeve 15 forms a hearing.

A flat bottom wall 17 serves as a base on which the case can be supported in upright position. The cases front wall 18 is forwardly inclined near the bottom wall and then is inwardly curved to terminate in a rounded rim 19. For a greater part of its height the cases rear Wall 20 is parallel to the wall 18 then it curves forward to merge with a top wall 21. A tape discharge opening 22 is formed in the top wall near the rim 19.

Formed on the top wall 21 is an upstanding rib 24 which is also split down the middle to provide two halves with one-half being supported on or integrally formed with each case part 11. A front end 24A of the rib is spaced at short distance to the rear of a forward edge 26 of the top wall and the rear end of the rib overhangs the curved junction of the walls 20 and 21. A pair of transversely spaced Webs 27 support the overhanging portions of the two halves of the rib. In FIG. 3 it will be seen that side edges 28 of the rib are inwardly inclined at an acute angle to the flat top surface of said rib. The abutting inner edges of the two halves of the rib are recessed to define a longitudinal slot 30 FIG. 1, the slot having rounded ends which are closed off by and spaced from the corresponding ends of the rib.

Slidably mounted on the rib 24 is a flat generally rectangular cutter 34 which preferably is made of a plasti material which is slightly flexible. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cutter has a front end which is bevelled and serrated to provide a tape cutting edge 35. Side flanges 36 are provided on the cutter and their inner edges 37 are inwardly inclined to conform to the side edges 28 of the top rib. The cutter 34 is fitted on its upper face with a thin, flexible plate 38 which is joined to the front end of the cutter and is unattached to the flanges 36. A common leaf spring will serve as a plate 38 but if the material forming the cutter has the desired amount of flexibility said plate can be molded as an integral part of front end of the cutter. The plate is provided with a short centrally located pin 39 which projects from the underside of said plate near the rear end of the cutter.

The case 10 is intended to dispense tape from an annular roll 42 which is loaded into the device as follows. With the case dismantled, the roll is placed on the sleeve 14 of the part 11B and a short length 43 of the tape is pulled from the roll and is drawn through the then halfformed discharge opening 22. The parts 11A and 11B are fitted together to complete the case 10 whereupon this container portion of the dispenser is ready to receive the cutter 34.

The cutter is mounted in operating position by entering the front end of the rib 24 between the flanges 36 until said end abuts the pin 39. By raising the free end of the plate 38 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 4, the pin 39 is lifted clear of the end of the rib whereupon the cutter can be moved rearwardly and the plate released so that the pin will snap into the slot 30. The cutter will then slide freely between its open and closed positions, both of which are shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2 only. The slidable motion of the cutter as aforesaid will then be limited by the length of the slot 30, and restrained against vertical and lateral movement relative to the rib 24 by the flanges and side edges aforesaid. At this time the two parts of the case are locked in side by side relation solely by the cutter. Thus, the dual purpose cutter eliminates the need for the pins, screws or other fastening devices which many conventional dispensers employ and the time and effort required to reload the case is reduced.

The two-part dispenser is operated while supported in one hand and the thumb of this hand can be used firstly, to move the sliding cutter 34 to its fully retracted or open position and secondly, to apply the projecting tape end 43 to the surface to be taped. By drawing the dispenser away from the surface-adhered end 43, the roll 42 is unwound until the required length of tape is extended whereupon the cutter is moved to its fully extended or closed position and the tape is severed against the edge 35 by simply pulling and twisting the dispenser. When the tape is cut by the fully extended cutter a substantial length of tape is left projecting from the case where it is readily accessible for the next application.

The modified dispenser consists of a case 50 having a single side wall 51 and an integrally formed rim which provides the case with bottom, front, rear and top walls 52, 53, 54 and 55 respectively. A sleeve bearing 56 is formed on the side wall 51 and on the inner edge of this bearing are four circumferentially spaced prongs 57 which have lugs 58 on their outer ends. Desirably, the case 50 is made of plastic and the material has sufficient resilience to permit the prongs to be flexed towards and away from the axis of the sleeve bearing 56.

The top wall 55 has a discharge opening 60 which is bordered by an upper edge or rim 61 of the front wall and also by a forward edge 62 of the top wall. The modified dispenser has a rib 64 which is supported on webs 65 and is provided with inwardly inclined side edges 66. A central slot 68 is formed in the rib 62 and this is fitted with a cutter 34 in the same manner as this cutter is attached to the main embodiment of the dispenser.

It will be obvious the one sided case 50 is economical to manufacture and also is extremely easy to load with a tape roll 42. The roll is fitted to its bearing by springing the prongs 57 so that they will enter the rolls centre opening. When the tape roll is moved into contact with the side wall 51 the prongs spring outwardly so that the lugs 58 will prevent accidental withdrawal of the roll from its sleeve bearing. The tape end 43 is then fed through the opening 60 and the modified tape dispenser is ready for use with the tape dispensing operation being as above described.

What I claim is:

1. A dispenser including a case having a top wall and a bearing on which a roll of tape is adapted to be 3 journalled the dispenser being further characterized by: (a) the top wall having a discharge opening through which an end of the tape can be withdrawn, (b) an upstanding rib, formed on the top wall adja cent the opening,

(c) the rib being recessed to define a longitudinal slot,

. (d) a flat generally rectangular cutter having a cutting edge, the cutter being slidably mounted on the rib for longitudinal motion, and being adapted to close the discharge opening with the cutting edge being disposed to overhang the top wall,

(e) means to restrain the cutter against vertical and lateral movement relative to the rib,

(f) a pin carried by the cutter and resilient means normally retaining an end of the pin within the slot, so that the longitudinal motion aforesaid is limited by the length of the slot.

2. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, said case being provided with one side wall only, said bearing projecting inwardly from the side wall and resilient means on the inner end of the bearing retaining the tape roll rotatably mounted thereon.

3. A tape dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the case is divided longitudinally into two parts and the cutter is provided with side flanges which engage the rib and retain the two case parts in side-by-side relation.

4. A tape dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bearing is formed by inwardly projecting and telescoping sleeves on the two parts making up the case.

5. A tape dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means retaining the pin within the slot is a resilient member secured at one end to the cutter and having the pin depending from its other end between the side flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,333,924 11/1943 Gorbatenko 83-649 X 2,447,519 8/ 1948 Marinsky 225-89 X 5 2,640,656 6/1953 Donkin 224-77 X 2,681,185 6/1954 Metzler et al. -s 225-47 X WILLIAM W. DYER, IR., Primary Examiner.

JAMES M. MEISTER, Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSER INCLUDING A CASE HAVING A TOP WALL AND A BEARING ON WHICH A ROLL OF TAPE IS ADAPTED TO BE JOURNALLED THE DISPENSER BEING FURTHER CHARACTERIZED BY: (A) THE TOP WALL HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING THROUGH WHICH AN END OF THE TAPE CAN BE WITHDRAWN, (B) AN UPSTANDING RIB, FORMED ON THE TOP WALL ADJACENT THE OPENING, (C) THE RIB BEING RECESSED TO DEFINE A LONGITUDINAL SLOT, (D) A FLAT GENERALLY RECTANGULAR CUTTER HAVING A CUTTING EDGE, THE CUTTER BEING SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON THE RIB FOR LONGITUDINAL MOTION, AND BEING ADAPTED TO CLOSE THE DISCHARGE OPENING WITH THE CUTTING EDGE BEING DISPOSED TO OVERHANG THE TOP WALL, 